SpainScore comparison · Updated July 2026
Andalusia vs Galicia for settling in Spain (2026)
Andalusia or Galicia? Andalusia is warm-south — hot, dry and sunny; Galicia is Atlantic — mild, green and wet. Below, every settler number side by side — a winner called only where the gap is real, "similar" where it isn't — plus the tax split that can be worth five figures a year.
How we compare
Every figure below is pulled from the same SpainScore dataset behind the region briefs and the quiz. We put the two regions' numbers side by side and call a "winner" on a row only when the gap is big enough to matter — otherwise it reads "similar". Nothing here is hand-picked or editorialised.
- Data AEMET climate normals, regional PISA (INEE), the Health Ministry's SISLE waiting lists, INE income & Catastro home prices, and AEAT-joined regional tax postures — each against the Spanish average.
- Winners Called only on a meaningful gap (e.g. a home-price row needs a 15% difference, a surgical-wait row 20 days). Smaller gaps say "similar". A missing number on either side says "no data" and never picks a winner.
- Persona ranks From our region roll-up: each region's towns scored for six settler profiles and ranked 1–17 among Spain's comunidades. Lower rank = the better place to look.
The verdict, by who you are
For each of the six settler profiles we score, which region its towns rank better for — straight from the region roll-up (1–17 among Spain's comunidades, lower is better).
| If you're… | Andalusia | Galicia | Better bet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat-averse settlers | #9 of 17 | #1 of 17 | Galicia |
| investor | #5 of 17 | #12 of 17 | Andalusia |
| Families with school-age kids | #7 of 17 | #1 of 17 | Galicia |
| winter_sun | #5 of 17 | #10 of 17 | Andalusia |
| Retiring couples | #7 of 17 | #12 of 17 | Andalusia |
| Remote-working couples | #5 of 17 | #1 of 17 | Galicia |
| Budget-first coastal settlers | #5 of 17 | #1 of 17 | Galicia |
| budget_inland | #6 of 17 | #3 of 17 | Galicia |
| year_round_mild | #4 of 17 | #3 of 17 | Galicia, narrowly |
| American retirees | #9 of 17 | #10 of 17 | Andalusia, narrowly |
Ranked 1–17 by the median national percentile of each region's municipalities for that profile. Ties read "similar".
The numbers, side by side
Each region's figure with its rank chip where we have one. A "winner" only where the gap is real.
Climate
| Metric | Andalusia | Galicia | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer high (Jul–Aug avg) | 33.1°C | 26.0°C | Galicia |
| Winter average | 11.3°C | 8.9°C | Andalusia |
| Rainy days a year | 49 days | 121 days | Andalusia |
| Sunshine | 8.3 h/day | 5.7 h/day | Andalusia |
| Summer water stress (WEI+) | 22 #5 of 16 regions · −35 vs national | 6 #1 of 16 regions · −51 vs national | Galicia |
Aggregated from each region's municipalities (AEMET/derived); summer water stress is a river-basin (WEI+) reading. Chips rank the region among Spain's comunidades.
Schools (PISA)
| Metric | Andalusia | Galicia | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| PISA science | 473 #16 of 17 regions · −16 vs national | 506 #1 of 17 regions · +17 vs national | Galicia |
| PISA maths | 457 #16 of 17 regions · −22 vs national | 486 #8 of 17 regions · +7 vs national | Galicia |
| PISA reading | 461 #17 of 17 regions · −17 vs national | 485 #7 of 17 regions · +7 vs national | Galicia |
PISA 2022, reported per comunidad autónoma (INEE). Chips rank among the 17 regions.
Public healthcare
| Metric | Andalusia | Galicia | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean surgical wait | 173 days #17 of 17 regions · +70 days vs national | 73 days #3 of 17 regions · −30 days vs national | Galicia |
| Waiting over 6 months | 32.2% | 5.7% | Galicia |
| Specialist consult wait | 136 days | 63 days | Galicia |
Public waiting lists — SISLE-SNS Dic 2025, per comunidad autónoma. Lower is better.
Cost & economy
| Metric | Andalusia | Galicia | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | €1,745/m² | €1,650/m² | similar |
| Median net income / person | €11,132 | €13,641 | Galicia |
Median across each region's municipalities (INE net income; Catastro-derived sale price).
Tax face-off (2025)
Wealth and inheritance/gift posture for each region — often the single five-figure difference between two otherwise similar places.
Andalusia is the lighter-taxed of the two on wealth tax (none vs light).
Andalusia
- Wealth tax none
- ≈100% bonificación (difference/capture design) — no annual wealth tax below the Grandes Fortunas threshold.
- Inheritance & gifts none
- 99% bonificación for spouse, children and parents (Grupo I & II), on top of large reductions.
State ITSGF applies above ~€3M net worth, but Andalucía's bonificación is designed to absorb it so there is no extra bill versus a normal wealth-tax region. Source: primary source.
Galicia
- Wealth tax light
- 50% bonificación — halves the state-scale wealth-tax bill (a real, if reduced, annual cost).
- Inheritance & gifts none
- €1,000,000 reduction per heir for spouse/children (Grupo I & II) — effectively no inheritance tax below €1M, taxed on the excess above.
With only a 50% wealth-tax bonificación, high net worth can face combined wealth tax plus state ITSGF above ~€3M net worth. Source: primary source.
General posture, not personal tax advice — thresholds and reliefs change and depend on your circumstances.
Choose Andalusia, or Galicia?
Built straight from the winners above — the reasons each region actually pulls ahead on the data.
Choose Andalusia if you…
- want a milder winter
- want more dry, sunny weather
- are investor (it ranks #5 of 17 here vs #12 there)
- are winter_sun (it ranks #5 of 17 here vs #10 there)
- have significant assets or an estate to pass on and want the lighter wealth/inheritance regime
Choose Galicia if you…
- want to dodge the peak summer heat
- weigh long-term water security
- put school (PISA) results first
- want shorter public-health waits
- want a more prosperous local economy
- are heat-averse settlers (it ranks #1 of 17 here vs #9 there)
- are families with school-age kids (it ranks #1 of 17 here vs #7 there)
Best towns in each, to start from
The same engine as the quiz, run over each region's towns and filtered to the ones we profile in depth. Top of each list, in the engine's order — not hand-picked.
Best towns in Andalusia for families
schools, coast and cost, scored for remote-working parents
- Algeciras 4 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Cádiz 3 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Almería 2 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Sanlúcar de Barrameda 4 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Huelva 15 km from the sea · a hospital in town
Best towns in Galicia for families
schools, coast and cost, scored for remote-working parents
- Vigo 3 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Cangas 3 km from the sea · 26,698 people
- Pontevedra 14 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Coruña, A 3 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Santiago de Compostela 41 km from the sea · a hospital in town
Questions
Is Andalusia or Galicia better for settling in Spain?
Neither is "better" outright — it depends on what you weigh. On our data Andalusia takes 3 of the head-to-head measures, Galicia takes 9, and 1 come out similar. See the row-by-row table and the "choose X if…" summary above.
How do taxes compare between Andalusia and Galicia?
Andalusia is the lighter-taxed of the two on wealth tax (none vs light).
Which is better for heat-averse settlers?
Galicia. Across Spain's 17 comunidades, Andalusia ranks #9 of 17 for that profile and Galicia ranks #1 of 17 — so Galicia is the stronger place to look.
Go deeper on either region
This compares two regions, not your priorities
Get your ranking across both →
Answer a dozen honest questions and we score all 8,132 municipalities — in Andalusia, Galicia and everywhere else — against what you care about, tradeoffs shown as plainly as the wins.
Take the 3-minute quiz →Updated July 2026. Re-generated from the SpainScore dataset on each data release — the comparison is reproducible, not editorial.